After Newcastle United recently made Sandro Tonali the most expensive Italian footballer in history, and Tottenham Hotspur signed Guglielmo Vicario to refresh their goalkeeping department, could there soon be more traffic along the road from Serie A to the Premier League?
By signing the Italy midfielder for around £55m from Milan - a club he supported as a boy and stated he would never leave when signing from Brescia in 2020 - Newcastle not only made a statement about their own ambitions but also reaffirmed England's top flight as all-powerful in comparison to its competitors.
Viewed by many Milanisti as a future captain of the Rossoneri, Tonali's exit hardly comes as a surprise in an age when Serie A sides cannot afford to keep their star men out of the clutches of big-spending Premier League clubs - for instance, modest Bournemouth were able to outbid top Italian teams when Nicolo Zaniolo became available last season.
Vicario, too, was assumed to be heading for San Siro after an impressive spell fighting relegation with Empoli, but Spurs picked up the talented goalkeeper at an affordable price. He will now join Italy Under-21 international Destiny Udogie in North London.
Several other players have been tipped to travel in the same direction this summer, so who else could follow in those footsteps and swap Calcio for the bright lights of English football?
THE MAIN CONTENDERS
Amid a frenetic start to the transfer window, a number of proven Serie A stars have been heavily linked with doubling their money and moving to the Premier League.
Having been at the forefront of Inter's Champions League adventure last term, the Nerazzurri trio of Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Manchester United target Andre Onana have many admirers. Meanwhile, Juventus could lose Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic, Brazilian centre-back Bremer and flying winger Federico Chiesa if some reports are to be believed.
Of course, a few gems in the Scudetto-winners' crown are coveted too, with Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Kim Min-jae and 2022-23 Capocannoniere Victor Osimhen all impressing en route to the title.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina's World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat and long-serving Lazio playmaker Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have regularly been tipped to try their luck in England.
There are, though, some players below the radar who might appeal to those with money to invest in potential; could any succeed where West Ham's big-money buy Gianluca Scamacca has so far failed?
DEFENDERS
Long renowned for its mastery of defending, Serie A these days is less preoccupied by the principles of catenaccio than those of either counter-attacking or possession-based modes of play.
Nonetheless, clean sheets remain a prized asset for any side worth their salt, and three players to have shown up well during their first season in Italy could come under consideration this summer.
After breaking into Milan's starting XI when Stefano Pioli switched to a back three to halt the Rossoneri's mid-season slump, Malick Thiaw seamlessly stepped up and established himself as a regular, with the experienced Simon Kjaer often consigned to the bench.
Thiaw arrived from Schalke last year, when Sven Botman set a precedent in preferring Newcastle to Milan, and after sitting on the sidelines initially, his breakthrough performance in the Champions League victory over Spurs - when Harry Kane was successfully kept at bay - made observers sit up and take notice.
At 6'4", the 21-year-old offers a towering presence at centre-back and boasts an impressive success rate in aerial duels. His rapid progress was enough to earn a call-up to the Germany senior squad in March, and he then made his full international debut in June's loss to Poland.
Questions remain about Thiaw's suitability to operating in a back four, and although Milan have now reverted to type, the three-man defence is becoming predominant in Serie A. Both Torino's Perr Schuurs and Isaak Hien of Hellas Verona featured in such a setup during the 2022-23 campaign.
Hien, who joined Verona from Swedish club Djurgarden last summer, has established himself as a first-team fixture at Stadio Bentegodi; making 32 league appearances in his debut Serie A season.
Standing at 6'3", the 24-year-old made his senior international debut within weeks of moving to Italy, and despite his team's struggles he proved his proactive approach and impressive passing range would be a good fit for the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Schuurs - who has been linked with Crystal Palace and Liverpool, among others - is an Under-21 international for the Netherlands. He swapped Amsterdam for Turin last summer, when joining Torino from Ajax for a reported £8m.
Having since made 30 league appearances for the Granata, the right-footed defender, who often lines up on the left-hand side of a back three, is now among Serie A's hottest properties.
MIDFIELDERS
Alongside Tyneside-bound Tonali, Sassuolo's Davide Frattesi is part of a new generation of Italian midfielders pushing to replace some ageing Euro 2020 winners in the Azzurri's starting XI.
Long linked with a move to his beloved Roma, Frattesi's box-to-box abilities and improving eye for a goal - as evidenced in the recent UEFA Nations League finals - have helped him gain a foothold in the national squad, while drawing admiring glances from clubs more cash-rich than Roma.
The 23-year-old's positional awareness and willingness to run with the ball have made him a standout star for Sassuolo this year, and he would surely adapt well to the rigours of Premier League football.
Similarly, Atalanta's Teun Koopmeiners is no stranger to threatening the opposition area, though the Dutchman's attempts on goal quite often come from longer range.
The former AZ player can not only break up play effectively but also drive forward at pace, and he racked up seven goals and three assists in Serie A last term - including a hat-trick against Torino - while proving a menace with a string of precise set-pieces.
Months after a proposed switch to Southampton fell through in January, Lecce captain Morten Hjulmand may remain of interest to other English top-flight teams.
The Denmark international moved to Italy in the summer of 2021 and played a key role in the Salento side's promotion from Serie B, before excelling in the top tier last season; with his contract expiring next year, offers will surely be considered for Lecce's 24-year-old skipper.
Lewis Ferguson has also enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, and less than 12 months after leaving Aberdeen for Bologna, he has been linked with a move up the Serie A food chain: Napoli and Juventus are apparently interested in securing the 23-year-old's services.
After arriving in Emilia-Romagna for £3m last summer, Ferguson equalled Denis Law's record as the highest-scoring Scot in an Italian top-flight season with seven league goals; playing in a more advanced role as the 2022-23 year wore on and becoming a first-team fixture under coach Thiago Motta.
Ferguson's fellow Scot, 21-year-old Josh Doig, has made a more modest impression for Verona, but both are at an age where they could improve further. Another Brit, English starlet Samuel Iling-Junior, broke into the Juventus squad midway through a tough season for the Turin giants, and the ex-Chelsea winger will likely head back to his homeland at some stage, if not yet.
Finally, Ivorian wing-back Wilfried Singo is already in demand after showing flashes of his potential for Torino, and as his current deal is set to expire in the summer of 2024, the Spurs-linked star could be on the move sooner rather than later.
FORWARDS
Earning inevitable, if inaccurate, comparisons with Erling Haaland, young Rasmus Hojlund printed his name in the notebook of every self-respecting scout this year, following his move from Austria to a major European league.
Just 20 years old, the Danish striker was sparingly used for most of his first few months with Atalanta, but he hit form by scoring in four consecutive appearances in January and then sent speculation into overdrive with a springtime hat-trick on international duty.
Routinely mentioned as Manchester United's preferred attacking target, Hojlund has several other suitors, all of whom are intoxicated by his powerful running and sharp finishing - even if he remains a little rough around the edges.
Two more polished performers, Nicolas Gonzalez (25) and Boulaye Dia (26), would also fancy their chances of adapting to life in the Premier League if the opportunity arose - indeed, the former's move to Leicester City last term only collapsed after an injury ruled him out of Argentina's triumphant World Cup campaign.
While Gonzalez prefers to drift in and cause havoc from the right flank of Fiorentina's front three, Dia is often a more central reference point for Salernitana, though the Senegal striker can operate from the left just as successfully.
Finishing behind only Victor Osimhen and Lautaro Martinez in the Capocannoniere race, bagging 16 goals in 33 league games for a mid-table team, Dia has seen his loan switch from Villarreal quickly converted into a permanent deal. However, Salernitana could cash in straight away if the right offer arrives for a forward who loves to attack space and could flourish in the fast-paced English game. body check tags ::
